- North & South America
2. The current trademark regulations are mainly based on the National Trademark Regulations promulgated on December 16, 1996.
3. The trademark affairs are uniformly managed by the Curacao Intellectual Property Office, and the official language is Dutch.
4. The trademark registration in Curacao follows the principle of "application first".
5. At present, the Curacao Intellectual Property Office adopts the Nice Classification 11th edition of product and service descriptions, accepts applications for multiple categories in one form, and charges fees according to categories, but the fees for the first three categories do not increase. The elements that make up a registered trademark in Curacao include text, name, graphics, three-dimensional logo, color, slogan, commercial appearance/decoration, etc.
Curacao is a signatory to international intellectual property treaties such as the Paris Convention. Curacao has joined the Madrid Agreement, so trademark registration can be processed through either "single country registration" or "Madrid international registration".
The Curacao trademark is valid for 10 years after registration, starting from the date of application; Renewal can be processed within 3 months before the expiration date, with a grace period of 6 months; The renewal is valid for 10 years.
If the applicant does not reside in Curacao, they must entrust a specialized agent in their home country to handle it. The basic materials required for trademark application are:
1. Trademark design;
2. Specific categories and product/service offerings;
3. Name and address of the applicant;
4. Power of attorney;
5. If priority is declared, proof of priority must be provided.
The main process for applying for registration of a Curacao trademark is: application, acceptance, examination, announcement, approval, and issuance of a certificate.
After the application is submitted, the examiner will conduct a formal and substantive examination of the application. Formal review, which involves examining whether the application requirements and classification information comply with regulations; The substantive examination includes the examination of the distinctiveness of the trademark, whether it violates the prohibition and prohibition clauses, and whether it conflicts with the prior trademark.
After the review is approved, an announcement will be arranged, and a one month objection period will be set from the date of the announcement. Any interested party or prior rights holder may raise objections.
If there are no objections or objections are not valid during the announcement period, the registration can be approved and a registration certificate can be issued; If the review fails, a rejection notice will be issued and the applicant will be required to respond within the time limit specified in the rejection notice.
If everything goes smoothly, trademark registration in Curacao currently takes 1-2 months; If objections or rejections are encountered midway, the time will be greatly extended, often taking about 6 months.
